Word for Today

From Numbers chapter 11

Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit on them!"

From Mark, chapter 9:

Whoever is not against us is for us.  ⁴¹For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

Nikola Tesla was a pioneer in the field of electricity and radio. He worked for Thomas Edison for a time and then struck out on his own. I have been interested in Tesla's story ever since I heard that he was developing a method of electricity conduction that would not rely on wires for transfer. Imagine that! Wireless electricity. Electric cars could simply receive an electric signal and never need fuel. Computers would not need batteries... so many possibilities if only the "access" question were solved.

There is an  "access" question in today's scripture. First, Moses has brought leaders from the Israelite community together to receive a portion of the spirit that had been resting on him. But something remarkable happened. A few leaders who were registered were not in the tent when the spirit was distributed, yet, they began to speak like prophets. When questioned why the spirit had leaked into these other men, why the spirit had jumped wirelessly to them, Moses said "I wish that happened to everyone."

When it's reported to Jesus that his name was being used by unauthorized persons, his simple reply was "Let them do their thing." His priorities are very different from those of us who need to get it right with the right people all of the time. He was comfortable knowing his name was arcing in a rather haphazard, or Spirit-directed way.

Worrying about access is like trying to rely on a system of wires and powerhouses to conduct a power that was never meant to be tied down in such a way. I don't think I mentioned that Nikola Tesla was the son of a Serbian Orthodox priest. Could it be that Tesla worked so passionately on electromagnetic fields because he recognized something that reminded him of the Spirit of God? When it comes to God, who we know in Jesus Christ, you and I have unlimited access. The ultimate joy is when you hear about how your joy has arced into the life of another.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

Word for Today

From Mark 9:

³⁵He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."  ³⁶Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them,  ³⁷Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.

My friend Ken Jones shared this picture with me. It's a panel that spins around its center. Martin Luther's quote is on the top and bottom, "A Christian is a free lord of all, subject to none; a Christian is a dutiful servant of all, subject to all." This doublet is held in tension with itself, like a double-helix. It declares two simultaneous truths, that in relation to those around us the Christian perspective is to be at the same time freed and bound to the other. An incredible dialectic, it somehow makes sense in a deep way. We live this out every day. The closer people are to us (emotionally speaking), the more we sense this tension.

Jesus talks about greatness, and says that greatness on his terms has to do with being a servant, being last of all. Then he scoops up a child and uses it as an object lesson. Let's pause for a moment and consider what it's like to be a child.

Children have a happiness in them that comes from a certain kind of freedom. Maybe we can say they're care-free, or that they don't have the capacity to get bogged down by the complexities of life. Regardless, if you want to experience joy, hang around with a bunch of happy healthy kids! Their imagination is unlimited. Their ability to accept the rest of us is boundless. Their generosity is natural.

Yet, if a child were turned loose to try to survive in this wild world, they wouldn't do so well. Children as so dependent on the safety we create for them. Even if they don't realize it, they depend on our contingency-planning. They are subject to us.

So we treat our children tenderly. We are surprised by their creativity and even glimpses of wisdom, and we build whole societies around their protection. They are a picture of us, in the eyes of God.

Thank you Kenny for keeping this plain-spoken wisdom in front of me. I like to spin that panel in my imagination, around and around, as a picture of the spiritual life.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

"Joy is a net of love that can catch souls" (Mother Teresa)

Word for Today

From Isaiah 35:

  ⁵Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

  ⁶then the lame shall leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

From Mark 7:

They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.  ³³He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.  ³⁴Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  ³⁵And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

"Ephphatha" is pronounced "Ef-fa-tha". When you say it aloud (go ahead, if people think you're strange you can tell them why you're speaking Aramaic), you can feel your breath leaving your body, first controlled, then in total release. Mark tells us what that word means. When Jesus said it, when he did those odd things to the deaf and mute man, the power to communicate was suddenly uncorked! Then in classic Markan form, Jesus demanded they keep a lid on their experience. Yeah right.

The ability to hear, to listen, is rare these days. In this election season I get the impression that candidates and their parties have their fingers in their own ears, and they're saying "LaLaLaLa.. I can't HEAR you!" What will it take for our candidates to be opened, uncorked, so that the great responsibility of sharing life with one another can become easier and more abundant?

Really, God has given the ability to hear, to listen. God hasn't been selective or stingy with that gift. Not only is it part of creation.. it is part of the New creation.

May you have the ears of a cat. Each cats-ear has 31 distinct muscles with which to focus attention on the subject of choice. A cat can tell when you're opening the cat food cupboard, and when you're opening the meaningless cupboard next to the cat food. What's your subject? Tune in! Be opened. Ephphatha. I'm not much of a cat person, but this, I have deep respect for.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

"Joy is a net of love that can catch souls" (Mother Teresa)

Word for Today

Hebrews 11:8-10: Looking forward by faith

⁸By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

May your gracious blessing descend like dew from heaven upon all whom you will gather here for us to serve. Through us we pray that you will care for and love the children of our community, and we pray that we may faithfully show the joy and grace that comes from your Spirit.

We praise you for the joy of beginning a work in your name and for all whose gifts and labor have prepared for this day. May we soon celebrate your presence in this new place of learning and care, and, in the time to come, praise you forever in our eternal home; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Dear friends, St. Paul Lutheran Church is in the midst of raising up a ministry that will change the look, feel, nature and mission of our congregation. This week the forms are being set for the foundation. It's my prayer that mixed into the concrete will be faith, hope and love. 

What's your prayer for Giggles & Grace? Let me know!

(Thank you Dylan for reminding us to have fun while we learn!)

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

"Joy is a net of love that can catch souls" (Mother Teresa)

Word for Today

From "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" by Charles Wesley

Love divine, all loves excelling,

Joy of heav'n, to earth come down!

Fix in us thy humble dwelling,

all thy faithful mercies crown. 

Jesus, thou art all compassion,

pure, unbounded love thou art;

visit us with thy salvation

enter every trembling heart.

"Pure unbounded love." Those words bring about a feeling of amazement in me! After being amazed, I think to myself "I want some of that!" Pure unbounded love. May you be touched and held by Pure Unbounded Love.. "Jesus" for short!

In Mark chapter 7, Jesus tells us how much he knows about us, that we cannot keep sin on the outside. It can't be kept at arms' length. Rather, it grows from the heart outward. 

Acknowledging this condition is the fist step in God's work of creating space in our hearts for faith to dwell. "Visit us with your salvation, enter every trembling heart!" When Pure Unbounded Love enters the chambers of our heart, the Unbounded is contained by the Bounded, but when we live our lives of faith, the Unbounded spills out!

Here is yesterday's 

sermon audio

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

Word for Today

Living a sheltered life (In Christ)

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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¹³Those who are planted in the house of the LORD

shall flourish in the courts of our God;

¹⁴they shall still bear fruit in old age;

they shall be green and succulent;

¹⁵that they may show how upright the LORD is,

my rock, in whom there is no injustice. (From Psalm 92)

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²Thus says the Lord GOD:

I myself will take a sprig

from the lofty top of a cedar;

I will set it out.

I will break off a tender one

from the topmost of its young twigs;

I myself will plant it

on a high and lofty mountain. (From Ezekiel 17)

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(the kingdom of God) 

is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;  ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." (from Mark 4)

Below is the Boulderfield Shelter, also known as the Boulderfield Hotel. Elevation 12,750 feet in the mountains of Colorado. Its heyday was the late 1920's. Modest accommodations.. a four-hole privy (two for male, two for female) and a Victrola make for a welcome sight for a mountaineer.

God is our shelter. The kingdom of God is our new home. And in Christ, we live a sheltered life. It's so much better than falling victim to the elements!

Where has your hike taken you? And where did you find the Shelter which is Christ? When did you hike right past the Shelter, discovering later that you missed out on a Sheltered night of rest?

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church